The guys at my local EB told me about, then showed me, the part in their policy book where it says they CANNOT take games home to try them. The manager was telling me a whole store staff got canned for doing just that about a year ago.

Apparently there was a policy, but it was cancelled several years ago.

Anyway, I shopped a lot at two different EB stores, and the one at the mall never gave me a game that was not in original plastic after they changed their return policy last year. There is another store nearer to where I lived back in Chicago, and I got a few games that were the "last one" and I never had a problem with it, so long as they gave me a new box.

My local EB has the same policy about not taking home games. However, I know that they do it anyway. The store manager was already talking about the fact he can just take home a PSP and use it instead of having to buy one when they come out.

I'm sure some unlucky person will get stuck with that used PSP thats being sold new.

Some of you are a bit extreme. If someone tries on clothing at a store, is the clothing now used? If someone returns clothing to a department store, do you think they can sell it as new or used?You ever tried on shoes you didn't like? Think they went in a "used" pile?

Stop being absurd. If the game works and is in pristine condition, who cares?

I can understand the need for pre-orders back in the day when game availability was an issue to some degree. With the advent of the internet however I don't see how this is an issue at all. One can find even the most rare of rare games online with a quick search.

Regarding opening the cases up to prevent stealing: Why not just keep the cases in the back or behind the counter? Sure it makes browsing a pain in the ass (maybe open one to have a case on the shelf for browsing purposes), but then they would know the only people who were still stealing had to work there.

You can't compare an electronic or mechanical good which has moving or electronic parts to clothing. Electronic goods have a completely different retail standard.

Sure I can.

Out of curiousity, what part of a CD/DVD is a moving or electronic part?

I knew that would be asked. A cd does not have a moving mechanical part like a hard drive, but the data is read off of the disc digtally, and if the cd is impaired (scratched) just as a moving part of a mechanical device might be impaired, it would affect its function. I didn't mean cds/dvds had moving parts literally, just implying that similar to mechanical devices and their mechanical functioning parts, cds/dvds have electronically functioning parts (the lines of burned data).

However clothing is a different industry. Most mechanical and electronic products and media aren't sold new by retail stores once opened from their originaly packaging. They are either sold as refurbished or discounted/open box items. This obviously doesn't apply to clothing.

On second thought, maybe you are onto something. Maybe EB is trying to become the "Abercrombie and Fitch" of video game stores, selling pre-scratched, pre-faded, and pre-stained games as new. They are trend-setters.

So why don't you do something about this, by contacting his district manager? Posting here won't do anything.

Honestly, HOW do you know they take home games? Because you suspect they do, or because they told you they do?

Because a new game has a factory seal on it and is assured to be brand new. I want to remove the factory seal - I don't want it done for me. As for clothing - some people buy clothes that look like they were found in a dumpster - Abercrombie and all those other crap stores. Clothing never came with a factory seal, but if someone buys it and returns it with the tags still on and they haven't worn it, then it's still new - as if it had been on the rack all this time. As long as the clothes don't smell like sweaty balls, I'll buy em. Once they are washed, they aren't new. But again, I'm not a person that buys clothes that look used already... my friend and I went into one of those stores that sell crap like that and they had used-looking flip flops for sale (something like 60 bucks) and my friend had on a pair of old ratty smelly ugly sandals that looked kinda similar... I told him to take them up to the counter and 'return' them.

Okay, how about if you purchase a blender or mixer from Target, open the box, and then decide to return it. Do you think they sell it as used? The factory "seal" has been broken, has it not?

My point is not that you're silly if you want to buy factory shrink-wrapped games. More power to you. My point is that insisting that they are no longer "new" because they've been opened is silly. Very few retail establishments hold to this same opinion, and no one complains about that.

Electronics stores usually sell returned items as "open box" at a discount. If I bought a TV that was an open box and didn't know it - I'd be pissed. It's not new if it's been out of the box and in someone's smelly-ass home. If EB adopted an 'open box' policy like Best Buy or circuit city has with electronics, then I'd cut them some slack.

Would you buy a vintage Star Wars Empire Strikes Back boba fett action figure for 300 bucks if the box was open? It's rhetorical, so don't bother telling me how much of a nerd you aren't and how you would never buy such a thing to begin with.

I won't deny having geekish tendencies, but I've never gone that far.

Comparing a collectible to a video game is a bit of a stretch, don't you think? As I said, I'm not disparaging anyone's desire to buy only sealed games. That's fine. But it's a matter of personal preference, not a matter of "new" vs "used".

I think this is good disucussion.
Not silly at all.

But honestly Duran, your analogies keep landing wide of the mark IMO.

With video games, as with CDs, DVDs, and most high end electorics, the manufacturer specifically and purposefully apply some sort of seal gauranteeing the customer that the product has not been tampered with since leaving the factory.

I think these seals are there to ensure customer confidence and they do a great job of that.

Now while you may be correct in commenting that a broken seal doesn't necessarily mean a "used" product, the retailer (EB or whoever) takes away from the customer the security and the confidence that the manufacturer is trying to impart when they sell a item with broken security seals.

The price the retailer should have to pay for taking from the customer something the manufacturer obviously meant for the customer to have, is to at least knock down the price, which in EB's case would be equivalent to selling the game as used ($49.99 new and an amazing $45.99 used, WOOHOO, what a deal!!!)

CDs and DVDs are hardly high end electronics. They are mass produced for pennies.

I agree. I'm not saying that it is a good practice or that it's desirable. I'm saying merely opening the package does not make it "used", despite the earnest protestations to the contrary. It's not a legal issue, it's not a dishonest retailer issue. It's simply personal preference. If you want your games sealed when you purchase them (a perfectly legitimate desire), don't shop EB/Gamestop.

Well, look - I buy most of my games used and pay less than half the msrp usually. I'm just saying that if I really wanted to get a game new, I wouldn't ever buy it from EB opened since I can get the same thing for 1/3-1/2 the price... often when buying from half.com, sellers send me a factory sealed game. As I've said before, I have a better chance of getting a factory sealed game by ordering a used game at half price from half.com than I do by walking into EB and paying full MSRP plus tax for a "new" game.

I just won't buy something sold as "new" if it's already opened - I don't care if it's a game or a toaster or a TV. All EB has to do is mark the opened items down 10% or something and I'll hate them alot less than I do. If they open the case, take the game out and place it in a sleeve (assuming they don't take it home and play it at night) - it's used. Just because it didn't take a spin in a DVD drive, it's still been touched by human hands and stuck in a drawer. That's not new no matter how you look at it.

And that's your right. I personally agree with you on this. I haven't bought something from EB/Gamestop retail since they stopped taking returns.

Maybe by your standards, but not by any legal standard and not by retailing standards.

Actually - you're completely wrong... consumer laws prevent stores from selling items labeled "refurbished" as "new". Here's a list of things that can label an item "refurbished"...

Where is that list from?

Trigger is correct. As a law student, I know that you cannot open a box and advertise it as new. If they were to put a notice on the box explaining that this item has been opened, then they are okay, no matter what price they sell it at. Bottom line--they can't mislead the consumer.

it's a typical disclaimer that appears on multiple websites all over the web that sell refurbished goods.